With traffic increasing as we get closer to Christmas, now is the time for new and infrequent visitors to see your business.
- Make sure the front third of your shop pops and looks unlike a traditional newsagency. You want people to say wow, this is different or didn’t this used to be a newsagency? or similar. Them noticing the difference relies on you making it different.
- Reset the counter. Make it nothing like what’s usual for you or what people expect from a newsagency. M a k e a s t a t e m e n t. You want people to notice.
- Invite them back. Use discount vouchers or some other mechanic that offers a benefit for them shopping with you again soon.
- Drive a deeper basket. While they may visit for a Christmas card and / or wrapping paper, have products strategically placed to achieve a deeper basket.
- Be responsible. The extent success of Christmas in your shop is 100% up to you, choices you made months ago and in-store execution you decide today and tomorrow.
Don’t be a retailer who looks back on Christmas 2025 saying it was flat or down as if it’s an economy thing or a seasonal thing. The success of Christmas in your newsagency is 100% on you and while it can now feel too late, doing something right now is better than doing nothing at all, even if you don’t have the right product you now want.
So, what are you doing to make the most of the extra traffic? This type of work doesn’t take long. It’s easy to do. And, you can usually do it with what you have. The key is to approach it not as a newsagent.
A critical element of this Christmas push is to ensure your team is trained and empowered to leverage these changes, not just to process sales, but to actively engage.
Get in an hour early or stay an hour late and do the best you can.
Looking back after Christmas and wishing the numbers looked better is too late.
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Mark Fletcher founded newsagency software company Tower Systems and is the CEO of newsXpress, a marketing group serving innovative newsagents keen to evolve their businesses for a bright future. You can reach him on mark@newsxpress.com.au or 0418 321 338.